Digital Media Marketing: New Twitter features you need to know about

Friday

May 16, 2014 at 11:57 AMMay 16, 2014 at 11:58 AM

By Kristin Provencher, Propel Marketing

Twitter has been hard at work trying to improve its user experience making lots of updates and new features. From adding more visual sharing elements to making it easier to find the content you actually want to see, Twitter is listening to their audience.

Check out the new and improved features rolling out to a Twitter feed near you:

Profile page redesign

The features include a new layout, larger profile images, the ability to pin your favorite tweet to the top of your page, and filtering your profile view.

Photo collage

Twitter recognizes the importance and power of visual elements in social media. IPhone and Android users can now upload up to four photos in a tweet, making a collage, and can tag up to ten people without going over the 140 character limit! This allows brands (and everyone else!) to get even more creative with their images on Twitter.

‘Click-to-call’ button

Twitter is testing a new ‘click-to-call’ button for direct response advertising for mobile users. How does this work? The button is embedded into a tweet, allowing the consumer to simply tap to get in touch with the advertiser. Just one click to call is huge when immediate action is needed. For example, if a restaurant is advertising a special, the customer can click on the tweet to call and make a reservation right then and there, making it more effective for both business and consumer alike!

Mute unwanted user content

As of Monday, Twitter introduced a new account feature called “Mute.” This feature gives you more control over the content you view in your newsfeed. How? Twitter now allows you to mute a user you want to “hear” less from, tailoring your feed to your interests.

When you mute a user, you will no longer receive their tweets or retweets in your home newsfeed, or receive push notifications from them on your iPhone or Android phone apps. Not to worry, muted users can still see and engage with your content, will not know if you have muted them, and they can be unmuted by you at any time.

Amplify video program enhanced

Twitter enhanced their Amplify program to allow media partners to share video content in a one-click format. Adding to the enhancements of their visual presence, these videos can now be viewed in a more user-friendly format. This has yet to be released to all users, but is slowly rolling out to brands, advertisers, and eventually to all high-quality publishers.

Engaging tweets called out

See only the best tweets! The tweets that have received the most engagement will appear slightly larger than the rest in your profile page’s feed, making the best content easier to find when users are skimming through. It also helps you visually see the tweets your followers like the most which can help you improve your strategy.

Twitter is always evolving and changing to keep up with competing social networks, which is a win for everyone as the user experience improves and brand creativity flourishes. What is your favorite new feature, or what would you like to see change?

Propel Marketing is an online marketing company providing digital solutions to local small- and medium-sized businesses: www.propelmarketing.com.